How technology reshaped digital ecosystems in 2025 & what comes next in 2026

2025 marked a turning point in how technology actively shapes entire ecosystems rather than just enabling individual products or services. From AI becoming embedded in everyday workflows to platforms prioritizing trust, interoperability, and governance, technology began acting as connective tissue across industries. As we move into 2026, the focus is shifting from rapid experimentation to sustainable scale, where resilience, regulation, and real-world impact will define how digital ecosystems evolve next.

The Tech Panda asked industry experts how technology contributed to the ecosystem in 2025 and what we can expect in 2026?

Pankit Desai, Co-Founder & CEO, Sequretek

“As we gear up for another opportunity-filled new year, Indian business leaders are now coming to terms with a new reality that Cybersec is no longer a regulatory checklist but should be a board level priority. Events like Operation Sindoor, showed us not every attack is just coordinated on the ground but now critical infra needs to be protected as well. Our nation’s infra like power grids, stock exchanges, telecom infra, train networks, if compromised, can bring our economy to a halt or leave a major devastating impact. Cyber risk became a daily topic at India’s top tables.

“Another sobering lesson was that trust in the digital supply chain isn’t earned once; it is monitored daily. Supply chain risk is now a shared operational problem—not just a technical one. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) and SEBI’s CSCRF pushed regulatory requirements into the operational core. Now, MSMEs—the scaffolding of India’s supply network—must not only pass granular audits but also adopt verifiable, technical controls to stay part of the ecosystem. Regulators have started demanding clear audit trails and not just statements around it.

“The ask is simple: Cybersec to be used as a defense tool and should produce evidence led vigilance. Boards can no longer ask, “are we compliant?” but “are we resilient—today, and every day after?”

Pushkar Mukewar, Co-founder & CEO, Drip Capital

2025 has been a defining year for exporters, whether small manufacturers or mature, mid-market companies, are operating in a very different trade environment compared to even two years ago. Documentation gaps, extended payment cycles, currency fluctuations, and tariff-driven pricing shocks are creating uncertainty, especially for businesses that rely on predictable working capital. This is the single biggest constraint we see: no demand, but liquidity and risk management.

We’ve also seen a shift in the way Companies think about financing. Exporters are seeking Structured, Real-time Financing Options that keep pace with the Global Supply Chain rather than the older Banking Process. As digital trade platforms scale and lender participation broadens, including global banks, development institutions, and private capital, access to funding is becoming more efficient and more transparent.

Looking ahead at 2026, enabling seamless financing won’t just be about deploying capital. It will require shared data frameworks, interoperable systems, and deeper collaboration between regulators, lenders, and technology platforms will be critical. If the industry continues to move in this direction, we can unlock tremendous value for exporters and strengthen India’s role in global trade.

Ankur Mittal, Co-Founder, Inflection Point Ventures

“2025 has been a defining year for the startup ecosystem of India. Whereas the earlier years were about nurturing unicorns, the focus of 2025 was on realizing meaningful IPOs. These IPOs have yielded tremendous returns for early-stage investors and early backers of young startups. These returns to early-stage investors have brought the limelight to angel investing and have inspired more people to evaluate and invest in startups and a brilliant cycle is thus created. The momentum for the years ahead is clearly building.”

Tarun Gupta, Co-founder, Lissun

“2025 demonstrated how thoughtfully applied technology can meaningfully transform mental healthcare without diluting its human core. The larger shift this year was toward technology that works quietly in the background, allowing clinicians to focus on care rather than operations. Looking ahead to 2026, technology will increasingly support early identification, personalised care journeys, and home based interventions. The future of mental healthcare lies in intelligent systems that enhance trust, improve outcomes, and make care more responsive and accessible at scale.”

Prachotan DL, Co-Founder & Head of Business Development, Bhanzu

“2025 proved a transformative year for India’s edtech sector, demonstrating resilience against funding headwinds while embracing AI-powered personalization and hybrid learning models to drive sustainable growth. Looking to 2026, the industry anticipates accelerated momentum through enhanced partnerships, regional language expansions, and innovative solutions addressing learning gaps in Tier 2-3 cities.”

Ankit Mehta, CEO & Co-Founder, ideaForge Technology Ltd.

“The year 2025 made one thing clear, UAVs are transforming both national security and enterprise operations domestically as well as globally. From Operation Sindoor to everyday missions led by security forces, industries and state agencies, drones consistently delivered reliable intelligence where it mattered most. Also, after Op Sindoor, Electronic Warfare resilience has become a baseline requirement for the Indian forces operating in border areas. This has been evident with the increased procurement activities, budget allocations and order in flows. Driven by geopolitical exigencies, this year, the UAV demand surged sharply in the Indian defence sector, after a muted 2024.

“The ecosystem around us strengthened as well this year. Government and institutional support accelerated deployments. Announcement of INR 1 Lakh crore RDI fund signalled that the government is serious about strengthening R&D in the country and developing cutting-edge technologies. Rationalisation and clarification on GST rates further help consolidate the progress that the industry has made and will make Indian products more competitive. Increased focus on cybersecurity and country of origin checks becoming a standard part of the army’s procurement requirements has given indigenous players further confidence that their efforts in developing indigenous and secure tech will be recognized and appreciated by customers.

“As we enter 2026, the industry is entering a new phase where performance, reliability, resilience and autonomy will become baseline expectations. Leveraging the existing and new AI capabilities is going to become crucial as we go forward in the next few years because there is a need in the market for a lot more autonomous operations on drones in the future. And that is particularly required because with all the electronic warfare and counter drone systems that are going to be more prevalent on the ground today, the need for drones to do missions while being completely radio silent is going to go up”.

Mannuri Vamshi Krishna, Founder & CEO, MedScore

“2025 has been a defining year for MedScore as India’s healthcare supply chain moved from intuition-led credit decisions to real-time financial intelligence. We saw firsthand how disciplined data can transform access to essential medicines, especially in markets where delayed payments and informal lending have silently constrained availability for years. Our work with distributors and retailers showed that stability in healthcare begins with stability in cash flows, and that a credible digital credit identity can be as powerful as inventory itself. This year reaffirmed our belief that financial transparency is the strongest lever for building an equitable, efficient, and resilient healthcare ecosystem. As we step into 2026, MedScore will continue strengthening this backbone by expanding our scoring infrastructure, deepening ERP integrations, and bringing structured credit discipline to every corner of India’s B2B pharma landscape.”

Vikas Tarachandani, Co-founder, SURE

2025 turned out to be an important year for India’s housing finance market, especially in Tier-1 cities. We saw a clear shift toward higher-value homes, with salaried urban individuals increasingly purchasing properties priced above ?1 crore and the conversations shifting from simply “buying a house” to “investing in a better life.” While the overall home sales stayed measured, the value of transactions continued to rise- a trend highlighted by Knight Frank across major cities.

For many who were waiting on the sidelines, the more supportive interest rate environment of 2025 felt like an open door. Lower rates turned the “maybe one day” conversation into “let’s do this now.” It brought financially prepared families back into the market, confident that they could afford the lifestyle they have worked so hard for. According to CareEdge, India’s Housing Finance Industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15–16% by 2029–30, supported by the expectation that nearly 40% of India’s population will live in urban areas by 2030

Perhaps the most inspiring change is how people are handling their debt. Today’s homeowners are digitally savvy and proactive. They aren’t just taking loans and forgetting about it; they are using digital tools to track their progress and optimize their finances. As we move forward, the combination of financially prepared buyers and a stabilizing credit ecosystem suggests a mature, sustainable path for India’s retail credit market where transparency and borrower-side intelligence will be just as important (if not more) than access to credit itself.

Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby and Program Director, Digital Naari

“2025 has been a defining year in India’s development journey – a year where the conversation moved from empowering women to recognising women as powerful economic contributors in their own right. Rural Bharat has led this shift. With female employment rising sharply, we see that when opportunities reach women at the grassroots, families become more secure, communities become more confident, and progress becomes self-sustaining.

“Across our network, this change is deeply visible. Women banking correspondents continue to build trust where it matters most. Female customers transact almost 66 percent higher with women agents, showing how comfort, relatability, and local trust can unlock meaningful economic participation. More importantly, each Digital Naari is shaping steady, dignified income for her household while creating access for her community.

“As the Government accelerates its ambition to enable three crore Lakhpati Didis, our work aligns closely with this national vision helping women gain financial capability, access income-generating opportunities, and transition from informal roles to sustainable livelihoods rooted in dignity and confidence.

“Looking ahead to 2026 and the road to Viksit Bharat 2047, deeper partnerships will be essential. Policymakers, financial institutions, fintechs, corporates, and community networks must come together to strengthen skill development, expand access to affordable credit, and formalise women’s participation in the economy. India’s progress will ultimately be shaped not only by how far women go, but by how strongly we support their ability to lead, earn, and influence the future of their communities.”

Tarun Kher, Partner-Risk Advisory, BDO India

“At the cusp of 2026, Indian companies stand at a pivotal moment where economic momentum, regulatory tightening, and global realignment intersect to create rare strategic advantages. The outlook on our economic growth and trade prosperity remains positive, global diplomatic ties are progressing from strength to strength, and global industrial and technological giants continue to make investments in India for setting up manufacturing hubs as well as information data centres.

“At the same time, regulatory expectations around privacy, sustainability and environmental & social governance, digital infrastructure, information technology governance, new labour reforms and tax transparency have become far more detailed and their impact on India Inc. would be far more visible in 2026.

“While governance and compliance have often been seen as obligations, many of the recent regulatory frameworks coming into force create avenues for strengthening risk and policy foundations and competitive advantage in the year ahead.

“For India Inc., 2026 is not merely about meeting regulatory milestones, it is about decoding emerging geo-political and economic risks that will influence capital flows and boardroom strategy making governance not just a necessity, but a strategic lever for resilience and growth.”

Anurag Tyagi, Partner, Deal Value Creation Services, BDO India

“2025 saw the most deliberate effort from SEBI to elevate M&A since the 2011 SAST regulations. This overhaul seemingly intends to shift India from a promoter-dominated M&A environment to a market-driven, rules-based system where transparency, price integrity, and governance drive value creation. The more than incremental reforms in the form of notifications run across three themes: Improving governance, enhancing market integrity, enabling efficient buyouts, de-listings and acquisition financing. SEBI is solving for a market where deal prices are fair, disclosures are timely, information leaks are curbed, related-party opacity is reduced, and buyouts or de-listings take place. For dealmakers, the changes mean clearer pricing, stronger governance expectations, smoother buyout. delisting pathways, and more predictable capital-raising for acquisitions. Given the shifts exit opportunities for investors, markets are likely to witness a different kind of M&A in the next two to three years. However, smart money should start chasing true value creation.”